eMirror Vol 22, No. 15 (2018-04-13)
Photograph by Dr. Jinen S. Boates, Wolfville Zazenkai, Nova Scotia
eMirror Vol 22, No. 15
Friday, April 13th, 2018
Edited by Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho
The White Wind Zen Community:
An international community practising and teaching Dogen’s Zen since 1985.
All times,
all places
must be shattered by the hammer blow
of this moment.
Leaving all barriers behind
even space collapses.
The iron tree gives fruit
and you are run through
by the long horns of a rabbit.
Speak a word and you'll die.
Don't speak and you'll never be born.
What can you do?
The sound of effortless rain
fills ten thousand worlds.
-Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi, Daijozan 1986, from the book "The Sky Itself".
Upcoming Events
https://wwzc.org/upcoming-events
Fusatsu: April 18th, May 2nd, 16th and 30th
Hanamatsuri Two-day Sesshin
The Hanamatsuri two-day sesshin begins at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 13th, and will end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 15th.
On Saturday, April 14th, associate and general students may attend a sitting held in the Zendo. Arrival time is 9:15 a.m. (in time for First Bell). The sitting ends at 11:30 a.m. Students attending are reminded to remain on the first floor.
Hermitage
The Roshi will begin a period of hermitage on Wednesday, May 2nd, which will end at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 6th, when he leads monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana.
Introduction to Zen Workshop
The next Introduction to Zen Workshop will take place at Dainen-ji on Saturday, May 5th. For more information please see:
https://wwzc.org/introduction-zen-workshop-ottawa
For information concerning our Long-distance Training Program, please visit this Web Page: https://wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program
Cancelled General Sitting
The Monday, May 14th, 7:30 p.m. general sitting is cancelled due to O-sesshin.
Cancelled Associate Sitting
The Thursday, May 18th, 7:30 p.m. associate sitting is cancelled due to O-sesshin.
Sogaku-ki O-sesshin
The Sogaku-ki O-sesshin will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 11th, and will end on Friday, May 18th, at noon. Formal students are reminded to send their schedules to schedule at wwzc dot org as soon as is possible.
For associate and general students: On Saturday, May 12th, there will be a sitting in the Zendo which will begin at 9:15 a.m. (First Bell) and will end at 11:30 a.m. Please remain on the first floor. Please note that the Monday evening general sitting is cancelled, as is the Thursday evening associate sitting. The 9:30 a.m. general sitting will take place on Saturday, May 21st.
A Note to Preliminary and Public Students Concerning O-sesshin
During an O-sesshin the schedule is such that there is no time to meet face to face with preliminary students or to reply to email correspondence sent by public students. Public students are asked to send their weekly practice journals, as they will be reviewed. But unless there is something that needs an immediate reply, you will not receive an email reply until the week following the O-sesshin.
Sogaku-ki
May 18th is the memorial for the death of Sogaku Myoshin Hakukaze daiosho, the 80th Lineage Ancestor and, it is said, the author of “Scattered Notes On The Daruma-kata”. Sogaku Hakukaze daisho lived during the Tokugawa era. He received transmission from Manzan Dohaku daiosho and gave transmission to Anzan Daiko daiosho.
Fudo ennichi
May 26th is a day traditionally dedicated to Fudo Myo-o. Fuo Myo-o (J) Acala Vidyaraja (S) A manifestation of “Mahavairocana” or all pervading Awareness as a wrathful guardian figure; a symbol of boundless energy, determination and compassion. Used as a symbol of the Teacher’s mind in this Lineage. Fudo stands glaring and snarling like a demon; it holds the sword of insight in one hand and the cord of the Precepts in the other; it has chained itself to a rock in the midst of the raging flames of the deepest hell to work for the liberation of all beings there.
Hermitage
The Roshi will begin a period of hermitage on Wednesday, May 30th, which will end on Sunday, June 3rd, at 9:30 a.m., when he leads monastics in Acalanatha Sadhana.
What to do if you arrive late for a sitting
You don't need to turn around and go home. Ring the bell once and then sit on the bench on the front porch. If possible, we will come and unlock the door for you right away. If we are in the middle of the chants or listening to a teisho, we will come to let you in as soon as the teisho finishes.
Retreats
To Schedule a Retreat
Please visit this Web page for information about scheduling a retreat and an explanation of the different kinds of retreat (duration and timing) you can sit: https://wwzc.org/retreats. Please note that retreats should be scheduled one week in advance.
Public students sitting retreats should send an email to schedule@wwzc.org to confirm they sat a retreat so that notice of it can be included in the eMirror. Please include the location of the retreat and the duration.
Teisho
Recorded Teachings Schedule
- Saturday, April 14th associate and general sitting: “Every Breath You Take” by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei: “Goals” (Dharma Talk 4)
- Monday, April 16th general sitting: “Flowers and Clouds” by Ven. Anzan Hoshin: “Welcome to the World” (6 of 12)
- Thursday, April 19th associate sitting: “Freedom and Tyranny” by Ven. Shikai Zuiko o-sensei: “Overthrowing the Inner Dictator” (Dharma Talk 1 of 3)
- Saturday, April 21st general sitting: “Without Difficulty”: Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's commentaries on Jianzhi Sengcan's “Xinxin Ming: Words on Trusting Awareness”: Reading of “Xinxin Ming (1 of 26)
Missed Sittings and Teisho
If associate students are unable to attend the Thursday evening associate sitting, they may attend one of the general sittings to make up for the sitting they missed. General sittings are held on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (first Bell is at 7:15) and Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. (first Bell at 9:15 a.m.). Please send an email to request permission to attend one of these sittings.
Teisho presented at general and associate sittings which are part of a series need to be listened to in the correct order and with none missed out. If you miss a sitting please borrow a copy of the missed teisho from the library or download it from the WWZC Media Site as soon as possible, so that the continuity of what is being presented is not disrupted. The weekly list of recorded teisho played at sittings is posted on the web site at:
https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings-schedule
Online Access to Recorded Teachings
Students can access the password-protected online Recorded Teachings library on the WWZC website at https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings or through the streaming site at http://app.wwzc.org. The custom-built media streaming site allows students to live stream recordings from the WWZC Recorded Teachings collection. It is optimized for use on smartphones and tablets, and works with most modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It can also be used on desktops.
Charitable Tax Receipts for Dana Contributions
Thank you to all who have offered monthly dana and special gifts over the past year to support the activities of the monastery, maintenance and renovation projects. Charitable tax receipts for donations made during 2017 were mailed out before the end of February. If you have made your donations to WWZC through CanadaHelps.org, you can access your charitable receipt for those donations through your account on the CanadaHelps.org website.
WWZC Website www.wwzc.org
Newly Posted Recordings for Students
"Surpassing the Teacher", Memorial of Keizan Jokin zenji, by Ven Anzan Hoshin roshi (April 17, 1988, Daijozan). Direct link: https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings/surpassing-teacher
Recorded Teachings for Public Access
While most of the online Recorded Teachings library is password-protected and only accessible to students of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin, a small selection of MP3 recordings of teisho are accessible to the public at https://wwzc.org/recorded-teachings. Additional recordings will be uploaded periodically.
MP3 recordings of five teisho are currently available:
- Dharma Position https://wwzc.org/dharma-position
- Eyes See, Ears Hear https://wwzc.org/eyes-see-ears-hear
- Embarrassment https://wwzc.org/embarrassment
- Yaza 2007: Sit Through the Night, the Night is Bright Right Through https://wwzc.org/yaza-2007
- Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi's reading of his translation of Eihei Dogen zenji's “Bendowa: A Talk on Exerting the Way” https://wwzc.org/bendowa-talk-exerting-way
Samu on Sundays
Each Sunday afternoon (except during O-sesshin and Sesshin), Caretaking Council (Saigyo tando, Fushin shramon and Endai shramon) do samu from 1:30p.m to 4:30p.m. on the various small projects required around the monastery. There are always a great many tasks that need to be done and so any students are welcome and encouraged to come to Dainen-ji to join the monastics in caretaking practice. If you would like to partake in the samu practice on Sundays please write to Saigyo tando at saigyo.cross@gmail.com.
Painted Cakes
(do not satisfy hunger)
by Ven. Shikai Zuiko sensei
Continuing on with “Painted Cakes: A Zen Dictionary” a limited edition text written by Anzan Hoshin roshi in 1994.
O-sesshin (J); A seven day sesshin, a period of intensive practice. See also “sesshin”.
Questions can be sent to me, Shikai sensei, at shikai.sensei@gmail.com.
Office of the Tenzo
Dogen zenji taught in the Tenzokyokun that the work of preparing and serving meals is "a matter for realized monks who have the mind of the Way or by senior disciples who have roused the Way-seeking mind." In alignment with this, part of Zen Master Anzan Hoshin's samu for the Community involves personally overseeing the activities of the ancient office of tenzo. Ven. Jinmyo Renge osho serves as tenzo and Mishin ino and Saigyo tando offer assistance as tenzo-anja.
Monday Yakuseki:
Lundberg Farms short-grain brown rice with baby peas and butter; tofu and gailan sauteed with monastery-made chili sauce and butter; cream of butternut squash/carrot soup (butternut squash, carrots, onion, Yukon gold potato, thyme, garlic, lots of black pepper, small amount of cream.
Tuesday Yakuseki:
Spicy mixed grain with lentils (leftover Thai white and brown rice and Lundberg Farms short-grain brown rice mixed with brown lentils, cooked diced Yukon gold potato, sliced carrots, baby peas, garam masala, butter); leftover cream of butternut squash/carrot soup, curried; “Madras curry” (chunks of sirloin tip braised in curry paste (freshly ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, chili powder, garlic, ginger, and lemon juice) with tomato puree and fresh coriander for garnish; leftover green cabbage slaw mixed with lime pickle and sunflower seeds.
Thursday Yakuseki:
Thai Jasmine rice; stir-fried strips of Spanish onion, green bell pepper, poblano pepper and cubanelle pepper, eryngii mushrooms, crimini mushrooms, topped with tempeh (cut into small pieces, fried with peanut and chili sauce, mixed with roasted peanuts); tamarind soup with reconstituted shitake mushrooms, ginger, shoyu, cubed silken tofu.
Thank You
If you would like to thank someone for a contribution they have made, please feel free to send an email to Jinmyo osho at rengezo at Gmail dot com, but be sure to type "eMirror" in the subject line.
From Mishin ino:
Thank you to monastics for taking on my responsibilities while I was away on a work-related trip, and to David Gallant for the loan of various travel-IT items.
From Endai shramon:
Thank you to the Roshi for the teisho series "Flowers and Clouds" to which we have been listening during the Monday evening general sittings and which transmits the Dharma in such a clear and vivid way. Thank you to Shikai sensei for the many design elements she has contributed to Dainen-ji such as the lovely curved wall at the bottom of the basement stairs leading to the change-rooms and the opening through to the men's change-room, which lightens the space and allows air-flow. As a basement resident, I see these design features every day and appreciate the way they use and point to space. Thank you to Jinmyo osho for instruction in daisan and for making delicious cashew yoghurt.
From Claude Schryer
Thank you to all the monastics for their support during my training session this week. It has a great opportunity for me to review forms and to deepen my practice. Thanks to Mishin ino for reminding me to open my gaze. Thanks also to Shikai Zuiko o-sensei and Jinmyo osho for their instruction and guidance. I am most grateful for this support at this time.
Ongoing Project: "All is Change"
Dainen-ji, being a 140-year-old building, is continuously in need of maintenance and the costs associated with this can be astronomical when such things as porch repairs or exterior painting are needed. This is something that we cannot afford to do, yet must do and so the "All is Change" project has been created. The "All is Change" project is very simple. Most of us have a bowl or a jar or some other kind of container that we keep somewhere at home and fill up with loose change because it's too heavy to carry around. Several hundred dollars has been collected so far both in loose change and Canadian tire money which has been put towards the building maintenance fund. If anyone would like to contribute to this fund, each penny will be appreciated. The “All is Change” container is on the wooden wall shelf under the Sangha Board in the cloak room.
